The Outlander King (The Aetheling's Bride, Book 1) by Hilary Rhodes

The Outlander King (The Aetheling's Bride, Book 1)
by Hilary Rhodes

Publication Date: June 1, 2015
Amazon/Smashwords
eBook; 476 Pages
ASIN: B00XM9QJ1K

Genre: Historical Fiction





The story of The Lion and the Rose and the Norman Conquest continues in this spellbinding new historical fiction series from author Hilary Rhodes, pulling back the curtain on the lives of two remarkable women connected across centuries: Aislinn, a seventeen-year-old English girl caught up in the advancing army of the “outlander king,” the man who will become known to history as William the Conqueror. Thrust into the center of the new Norman court and a dizzying web of political intrigue and plotting princes, she must choose her alliances carefully in a game of thrones where the stakes are unimaginably high. Embroiled in rebellions and betrayals, Aislinn learns the price of loyalty, struggles to find her home, and save those she loves – and, perhaps, her own soul as well.

Almost nine hundred years later in 1987, Selma Murray, an American graduate student at Oxford University, is researching the mysterious “Aethelinga” manuscript, as Aislinn’s chronicle has come to be known. Trying to work out the riddles of someone else’s past is a way for Selma to dodge her own troubling ghosts – yet the two are becoming inextricably intertwined. She must face her own demons, answer Aislinn’s questions, and find forgiveness – for herself and others – in this epically scaled but intimately examined, extensively researched look at the creation of history, the universality of humanity, and the many faces it has worn no matter the century: loss, grief, guilt, redemption, and love.

My Review
Four Stars 

Copy received from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for an honest review
Am I the only one that hates when life interrupts reading or reviewing?? Sorry for the late post. But "The Outlander King" was a great example of a fun reading that life just gets in the way of.  I loved the different time periods and the characters.   

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | ITUNES | KOBO

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hilary Rhodes is a scholar, author, blogger, and all-around geek who fell in love with medieval England while spending a year abroad at Oxford University. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in history, and is currently preparing for doctoral studies at the University of Leeds, fulfilling a years-long dream to return to the UK. In what little spare time she has, she enjoys reading, blogging about her favorite TV shows, movies, and books, music, and traveling.

For more information please visit Hilary Rhodes' blog.

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, August 24
Spotlight & Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Tuesday, August 25
Review at Based on a True Story

Wednesday, August 26
Spotlight & Excerpt at To Read, or Not to Read
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Thursday, August 27
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Friday, August 28
Spotlight at The Never-Ending Book

Monday, August 31
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective
Interview at Boom Baby Reviews

Tuesday, September 1
Spotlight at The True Book Addict

Wednesday, September 2
Guest Post & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Thursday, September 3
Review at CelticLady's Reviews
Guest Post at Books and Benches

Friday, September 4
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Saturday, September 5
Review at A Fold in the Spine

Monday, September 7
Review & Excerpt at Queen of All She Reads

Tuesday, September 8
Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, September 9
Spotlight & Excerpt at Historical Fiction Connection

Thursday, September 10
Review at Yelena Casale's Blog

Friday, September 11
Spotlight & Excerpt at The Lit Bitch

Montmartre Mysteries by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël BALEN

Jean-Pierre ALAUX and Noël BALEN

on Tour

September 3-22

with

Montmartre Mysteries

(cozy mystery)

Release date: September 3, 2015
at Le French Book

146 pages

ISBN: 978-1939474476


Website | Goodreads

SYNOPSIS

Wine expert Benjamin Cooker travels to the French capital, where his is called to help care for some vineyards in Montmartre, a neighborhood full of memories for him. He stops in on an old friend. Arthur Solacroup left the Foreign Legion to open a wine shop good enough to be in the Cooker Guide. But an attempted murder brings the past back into the present. But which past? The winemaker detective and his assistant Virgile want to know more, and their investigation leads them from the sands of Djibouti to the vineyards of Côte du Rhône.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen,
wine lover and music lover respectively,
came up with the idea for the Winemaker Detective series
while sharing a meal,
with a bottle of Château Gaudou 1996,
a red wine from Cahors
with smooth tannins and a balanced nose.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR

Translator Sally Pane studied French at State University of New York Oswego and the Sorbonne before receiving her Masters Degree in French Literature from the University of Colorado. She has translated several titles in this series.

***

Follow Le French Book on Twitter | on Facebook

Sign up to receive their latest news and deals.

Buy the book | on Indiebound | Amazon | on Barnes & Noble

***

You can enter the global giveaway here
or on any other book blogs participating in this tour.
Be sure to follow each participant on Twitter/Facebook,
they are listed in the entry form below.

Enter here

Visit each blogger on the tour:
tweeting about the giveaway everyday
of the Tour will give you 5 extra entries each time!
[just follow the directions on the entry-form]

Global giveaway open internationally:
5 participants will each win a copy of this book.
Print/digital format for US residents
Digital for all other residents

***

CLICK ON THE BANNER
TO READ OTHER REVIEWS AND EXCERPTS

Orphans, Assassins and the Existential Eggplant by J.T Gillett

Publication Date: February 19, 2015
Homunculus Press
Formats: Kindle eBook, Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-0692391662
Pages: 279

Genre: Historical Fiction







Orphans, Assassins and the Existential Eggplant explores the quirky side of historical fiction. The novel takes you on wild ride through the early 13th century with a female alchemist, orphan teenager and a 600-year-old, shrunken eggplant that can speak to whomever wears it. In search of the fabled Lost Stone of Eden, they cross Europe and the Mediterranean with the Children’s Crusade, hijack a caravan in the Sahara desert, live with hashish-fueled Assassins in the mountains of Persia and rediscover paradise on the island of Bahrain.

My Review:

Three Stars

Copy received from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for an honest review

"Orphans, Assassins and the Existential Eggplant" by J.T. Gillett was a fun read! The author really packed alot of elements in this story. I thought that the story was creative and at times funny.  I enjoy fantasy but it's not my favorite genre, nonetheless I enjoyed this story.  I enjoyed the funny dialogue and the witty conversations that took place on this little adventure.
Overall, I recommend this for anyone looking for a fun and different read with a lot of fun and wisdom.

EXCERPT

Aaron and the girls slept for a few hours during the hottest part of the day, then rode through the evening and the entire night, taking only a few breaks to rest the camels. They didn’t catch up to any slow-moving caravans, come upon an oasis or see fires in the night. Everything around them seemed the same, day after day. Same mirrored sky. Same scorching sun. Same sound of camel farting and plodding. Same sad, ivory scent of emptiness.

“Are we dead?” asked Donatelle as they shared the last of the water. They were sitting atop a tall dune and could see nothing but more dunes in every direction.

“Do you feel dead?” Aaron had to ask, knowing that in the middle of this terminal landscape, it was a good question.

“I can’t tell because I don’t know what it’s like to be dead, but it might be like this. Just nothing,” Donatelle shrugged.

“Death is much different—and much luckier,” guessed the eggplant.

Aaron hoped the eggplant was right, but he chose a different answer for Donatelle. “Whenever I’m not sure, I listen for my heartbeat. The pounding inside me says I’m alive in this world and even though we’re in a dead place, we’ll survive. We’ll find something soon, or something will find us.”

Something took the form of a humming dark cloud on the horizon. They watched as it grew darker, stretched across the dunes and started to roar like steady, rolling thunder.

My review:

Three Stars

 Copy received from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for an honest review

PRAISE

"Good stories rise and fall like empires in the endless pursuit of happiness, like armies of lovers marching to paradise - good stories change the world." So begins Part One of Orphans, Assassins and the Existential Eggplant. This book is such a good read. I read it on the plane to Hawaii, and it soared with me through the sky. My wife kept asking what was so funny as I giggled and laughed in my seat. This story changed me, in that flying is such a drag these days, and this book kept coming up with surprises, weaving together stories of gods, goddesses, orphans and assassins, the pursuit of the unattainable, and existential conundrums.

I have had the opportunity to read some of Mr. Gillett's poetry (especially "This is My Last Poem" - I hope this is not his last novel), and in this novel, he brings his poetic ability to sublimely transport the reader to new views of the mundane, new opportunities for transformation, and new ways of understanding my own self. What more could I ask for in a book.

Steal this book if you need to, but get it and read it with joy." - Paul Rerucha, Amazon Reviewer

"I don't read a ton of books for pleasure but I did read this one on the recommendation of a friend. It kept me captivated and I ended up finishing it in 2.5 days. This is the kind of book that makes me want to read more often." - B. H., Amazon Reviewer

AMAZON (KINDLE) | AMAZON (PAPERBACK)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.T Gillett holds degrees in philosophy and journalism from the University of Oregon and studied at Naropa Institute’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. His stories and poems have appeared in a variety of Literary Journals, including City Lights Journal, edited by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

For more information please visit the Orphans and Assassins website and blog.

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, September 7
Review at Book Nerd

Tuesday, September 8
Review & Giveaway at Laura's Interests
Spotlight at Broken Teepee

Wednesday, September 9
Spotlight at The Never-Ending Book

Thursday, September 10
Review at Boom Baby Reviews
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Friday, September 11
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Sunday, September 13
Guest Post & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

The Hidden Hills Saga:Ice Whispers by K. Willow

The Hidden Hills Saga: Ice Whispers (Book I)
by K. Willow

Print Pub Date: November 21, 2014 | CreateSpace
eBook Pub Date: December 19, 2014 | Book Baby

Genre: Historical Fiction





Slavery of a different kind, beyond physical chains, leads to a different type of escape . . .

Marissa Kristofferson can taste freedom. Her long years of suffering at the hands of her sadistic husband, Lance, are coming to an end as he lies dying. But she is stunned when he reveals the contents of his will and what she must do to keep Kristofferson Plantation, and how he plans to keep her bound to him even beyond the grave.

The beautiful slave Lolley has always envied Marissa’s life, and after learning that the master has also ordered her freed after his death, she is determined to reach for the life she wants by becoming the mistress of Marissa’s son, Shane, though she does not realize the lengths Marissa will go to to prevent the match, or the far-reaching consequences that will follow.

And Shelby, the plain and dutiful slave of free blacks, is unwittingly caught in the shocking drama that unfolds as a family is torn apart. Used as a pawn in a game of rivalry, deception, and betrayal, hers is a fight for survival while attempting to remain true to herself.

Three women—so very different but each carrying dark secrets that are closely intertwined, caught in a world between slave and free, a world which is becoming more fragile and precarious as war threatens and alliances shift, and each harboring seemingly impossible dreams of a better future.

In this first book of a dark historical saga, K. Willow paints a lush, emotional portrait of scandal, murder, injustice, and the ties that bind in the antebellum South.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | KOBO

My Review

Four Stars

Copy received from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for an honest review

"The Hidden Hills" by  K. Willow was a fascinating read. It was a refreshing perspective of the life of slaves during the pre-civil war era.  The author presents a variety of characters, all who are intriguing.  Marissa was such a difficult character. She reminded me of Toni Morrison's character. Morrison often has very antihero leads who are far from perfect and present the difficulties of human psyche.  I couldn't believe Marissa was so meddlesome and authoritarian after she experienced the same treatment at the hands of her husband.

Shelby was fantastic.  She is dealt very difficult blows by life but she never backed down and she never gave up.  Another equally fantastic character is Lolley.  She was everything that Shelby and Marissa were not.  She was easier to like and her practicality made sense.

Overall, this was a great read. One of my favorites this year. The characters are well developed and complex. The story line is fast paced and the author kept my interest from the first to the last sentence. I'm glad to see that this is a part of the series and I cannot wait to read more!

PRAISE

“K. Willow’s historical novel, Ice Whispers, book one of The Hidden Hills Saga, is breathtaking beautiful and stunningly sad all at the same time. It’s really the story of two women, Agatha and Shelby, who are slaves in the Kristofferson and Franklin households respectively. They’re both amazingly strong, selfless and wise women who come from two succeeding generations of slaves. While all the drama and action in the tale revolves around the Kristoffersons and the Franklins, it was the story of those two larger-than-life women that kept me enthralled. Willow adroitly uses them as a lens for the reader to view the affairs in Hidden Hills, and it works magnificently. I just finished reading Ice Whispers, and I’m totally floored by this work. It’s marvelous and is very highly recommended.” -Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite

“Part historical romance, part mystery, K. Willow’s book Ice Whispers is an entertaining and immersive read. Readers get to take the role of the voyeur as they explore the inner workings of the Hidden Hills society. Every member of the town has a role that they play, but each has their own secrets that they are trying to keep hidden. Willow’s novel is a quick and fun read that is full of vibrant characters. It is the perfect book for those who like to be in the know of the juiciest gossip or those who enjoy the drama of the workings of high society in mid-1800s America. I thoroughly enjoyed Ice Whispers, and I hope I get the opportunity to read more of Willow’s Hidden Hills novels.” -Tania Staley for Readers’ Favorite

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

K. Willow is a novelist and award-winning writer with a background in television, film, theatre, and soap operas. She writes dark historical and urban fantasy and lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | PINTEREST | GOODREADS

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, August 31
Spotlight at The Lit Bitch

Tuesday, September 1
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective

Wednesday, September 2
Review at A Book Geek

Friday, September 4
Review at Book Nerd

Tuesday, September 8
Guest Post at Shelf Full of Books

Wednesday, September 9
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Thursday, September 10
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Friday, September 11
Review at Queen of All She Reads

Saturday, September 12
Review at A Fold in the Spine

Sunday, September 13
Interview at A Fold in the Spine

Monday, September 14
Review & Guest Post at Jorie Loves a Story

Wednesday, September 16
Review, Interview & Giveaway at Singing Librarian Books

Thursday, September 17
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Friday, September 18
Tour Wrap-Up & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

My Lady Faye by Sarah Hegger

Enter to Win

$50 GC, $20 GC or 

Copy of SWEET BEA

MY LADY FAYE

Sir Arthur's Legacy #2

Sarah Hegger

Released September 1st, 2015

Kensington Books : Lyrical

The Lady

The
fair Lady Faye has always played the role allotted her. Yet the marriage her
family wanted only brought her years of abuse and heartache. Now, finally free
of her tyrannical husband, she is able to live her own life for the first time.
But someone from the past has returned. Someone she has never been able to
forget.

The Warrior

After
years of servitude as a warrior for King and Country, Gregory is now free to
pursue his own path: to serve God by becoming a monk. The only thing stopping
him is Faye. Gregory has loved Faye since the moment he saw her. But their love
was not meant to be. How can he serve God when his heart longs for her? He can
neither forsake God nor the woman he loves.

The Promise

When
Faye's son is kidnapped, Gregory answers her family's call for help, only to
find that even in the most dangerous of circumstances, neither can fight their
forbidden attraction. An attraction that now burns brighter than ever before.
And it is only a matter of time until it consumes them both.

BUY NOW

Amazon | B
& N | iTunes | Kobo  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Born British and raised in South Africa, Sarah Hegger suffers from an incurable case of wanderlust. Her match? A hot Canadian engineer, whose marriage proposal she accepted six short weeks after they first met. Together they’ve made homes in seven different cities across three different continents (and back again once or twice). If only it made her multilingual, but the best she can manage is idiosyncratic English, fluent Afrikaans, conversant Russian, pigeon Portuguese, even worse Zulu and enough French to get herself into trouble.

Mimicking her globe trotting adventures, Sarah’s career path began as a gainfully employed actress, drifted into public relations, settled a moment in advertising, and eventually took root in the fertile soil of her first love, writing. She also moonlights as a wife and mother.She currently lives in Draper, Utah, with her teenage daughters, two Golden Retrievers and aforementioned husband. Part footloose buccaneer, part quixotic observer of life, Sarah’s restless heart is most content when reading or writing books.

She loves to hear from readers and you can find her at any of the places below.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart

Girl Waits With Gun
by Amy Stewart

Publication Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Formats: Ebook, Hardcover
Pages:

Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery





From the New York Times best-selling author of The Drunken Botanist comes an enthralling debut novel based on the forgotten true story of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs.

Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family — and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared.

My review:

Four Stars

Copy received for an honest review from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

"Girl Waits With Gun" by Amy Stewart was a fun and interesting read.  The author grabbed my attention from the first sentence. I was captivated by the the characters. Constance Kopp is one of those characters that I will never forget! She was fascinating, strong and very interesting.  It's impossible not to be impressed with Constance. Her presence is a force to be reckoned with.  I loved how the author paced the story. I enjoyed the pacing of the story. I enjoyed the writing and I loved the witty dialogue and comments. I highly recommend this fun and enlightening story.  I definitely plan to re-read it! 

PRAISE

"A sheer delight to read and based on actual events, this debut historical mystery packs the unexpected, the unconventional, and a serendipitous humor into every chapter. Details from the historical record are accurately portrayed by villains and good guys alike, and readers will cross their fingers for the further adventures of Constance and Sheriff Heath. For fans of the Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood, and the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Laurie R. King."—Booklist, starred

"Stewart crafts a solid, absorbing novel based on real-life events—though they're unusual enough to seem invented. Stewart deftly tangles and then unwinds a complicated plot with nice period detail...More adventures involving gutsy Constance, quietly determined Sheriff Heath, and a lively cast of supporting characters would be most welcome."—Kirkus, starred

"In her engaging first novel, Stewart (The Drunken Botanist) draws from the true story of the Kopp sisters (Constance became one of the country’s first female deputy sheriffs) and creates a welcome addition to the genre of the unconventional female sleuth. Colorful, well-drawn characters come to life on the page, and historical details are woven tightly into the narrative. The satisfying conclusion sets up an opening for future Constance Kopp novels. VERDICT: Historical fiction fans and followers of Rhys Bowen’s 'Molly Murphy' mysteries and Victoria Thompson’s 'Gaslight Mystery' series will delight in the eccentric and feisty Kopp women."—Library Journal, starred

“A smart, romping adventure, featuring some of the most memorable and powerful female characters I've seen in print for a long time. I loved every page as I followed the Kopp sisters through a too-good-to-be-true (but mostly true!) tale of violence, courage, stubbornness, and resourcefulness."—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

"How could you not fall in love with a book about one of the first female deputy sheriffs and her sisters--especially when it’s written by the enthralling Amy Stewart? Full of long-held secrets, kicked-up dust, simmering danger, and oh yes, that gun—this gritty romp illuminates one of history’s strongest women with a hold-your-breath panache."—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Is This Tomorrow and Pictures of You

“Girl Waits With Gun makes excellent use of history to put a fresh spin on classic cop-and-crook types. Amy Stewart's true-life protagonist is a ‘rough and tumble’ version of the early 20th century's New Woman. She is witty, sharply-drawn, and suffers no fools!”—Suzanne Rindell, author of The Other Typist

“Yowza! Amy Stewart’s debut boasts pomaded gangsters, pistol-packin’ dames, kidnappings, shots in the dark, and everything from Girls Gone Wrong to carrier pigeons finding their way home. You might want to stay up all night reading, you might want to lie down on your fainting couch with a cool cloth on your forehead. Either way, you’ll have the time of your life.” —Robert Goolrick, New York Times bestselling author of A Reliable Wife

"Girl Waits with Gun is fresh, funny and utterly compelling-- and Constance Kopp and her sisters are not just great investigators, but completely original women. It was a blast from start to finish and I can’t wait to see what Deputy Kopp gets up to next."— Lisa Lutz, author of The Spellman Files, How to Start a Fire, and others

“Amy Stewart has crafted the best kind of historical novel; she uncovers an intriguing, all-but-forgotten historical nugget and spins it into a wildly entertaining tale with an engaging, tough-minded heroine. Girl Waits With Gun hits the bulls-eye.”—Daniel Stashower, author of The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War

“Amy Stewart’s debut novel Girl Waits With Gun is an irresistible and thoroughly enjoyable book, a suspenseful historical mystery spiced with marvelous characters, wit, and humor. Is it too soon to beg for a sequel?” —Jennifer Chiaverini, author of Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule

“Engaging, lively, and substantive, Girl Waits with Gun is a perfect mystery, and the Kopp sisters are my new best friends. Amy Stewart writes about crime as well as she writes about plants and poisons. I loved this book, and will be first in line for the next installment.”—Sara Gran, author of Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDIEBOUND | POWELL'S

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy Stewart is the author of seven books. Her latest, Girl Waits With Gun, is a novel based on a true story. She has also written six nonfiction books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world, including four New York Times bestsellers: The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Bugs, Wicked Plants, and Flower Confidential. She lives in Eureka, California, with her husband Scott Brown, who is a rare book dealer. They own a bookstore called Eureka Books. The store is housed in a classic nineteenth-century Victorian building that Amy very much hopes is haunted.

Stewart has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and many other newspapers and magazines, and has appeared frequently on National Public Radio, CBS Sunday Morning, and--just once--on TLC's Cake Boss. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, the American Horticulture Society's Book Award, and an International Association of Culinary Professionals Food Writing Award.

For more information visit Amy Stewart's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

Tuesday, September 1
Spotlight at Build a Bookshelf
Spotlight at Please Pass the Books

Wednesday, September 2
Spotlight at Library Educated
Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Thursday, September 3
Review at Book Nerd

Friday, September 4
Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Sunday, September 6
Review at Carole's Ramblings

Monday, September 7
Guest Post & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, September 9
Review at History From a Woman's Perspective

Thursday, September 10
Spotlight at Library Educated

Friday, September 11
Spotlight & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Connection

Monday, September 14
Review at Just One More Chapter

Tuesday, September 15
Review at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Wednesday, September 16
Review at The Worm Hole
Spotlight & Giveaway at The True Book Addict

Thursday, September 17
Guest Post at Books and Benches

Friday, September 18
Spotlight at What Is That Book About

Saturday, September 19
Review & Giveaway at 100 Pages a Day

Monday, September 21
Review & Giveaway at Unshelfish

Thursday, September 24
Review at A Bookish Affair

Friday, September 25
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Spotlight at Boom Baby Reviews

Monday, September 28
Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views
Review & Giveaway at A Literary Vacation

Tuesday, September 29
Review at A Fold in the Spine

Wednesday, September 30
Spotlight at Build a Bookshelf

Thursday, October 1
Review & Giveaway at To Read, or Not to Read

Friday, October 2
Interview & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Monday, October 5
Review & Giveaway at Mina's Bookshelf
Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews

Tuesday, October 6
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story

ARC Review: When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare

I can’t believe that I am recently discovering Tessa Dare because she is such a creative author! I’ve only read a handful of her books but each one leaves me wanting to read more by her. “When a Scot Ties the Knot” is the third book in her series “Castles Ever After.” I really enjoyed the previous book, “Say yes to the marquees” so I jumped at the chance to read this one. I was not disappointed.

One aspect of Dare that I am beginning to notice is that she is very creative and original in her characters and her plot. I think a story is going in one direction and then it goes in another. I can honestly say that I did not have this story figured out!

Miss Madeline Gracechurch, our heroine, is fantastic. I absolutely loved her and enjoyed reading about her! She was interesting and original from beginning to end. Maddie lives independent in a castle that she inherited from a family member. She inherited this castle in order to properly mourn for the death of her fiancé that she fabricated. Maddie suffers from anxiety and it’s especially prevalent when she has to attend social gatherings and balls. In order to spare herself this angst she fabricates a fiancé. As fate will have it Maddie comes face to face with her fiancé and he is ready to get married.

Captain MacKenzie was a very serious and likeable character. He sees a way out of his situation by “cashing” in on all the letters he received from Maddie while he was a soldier. It was interesting to see his motivation which although at face value might seem selfish, really had more depth and meaning behind it.

As Captain MacKenzie and Maddie realize that this farce could really benefit them both, they work out an arrangement that will be mutually beneficial. At first it starts out as a business agreement but as they begin to know each other and develop feelings for one another the lines of their agreement begin to blur.

I personally think Dare a fantastic job with this story. She really made Maddie a very strong, smart and independent woman with a huge heart. I loved both the hero and the heroine, I also found the background characters to be fantastic additions to the story. There were so many sweet and tender moments that had me wiping my eyes. I can’t wait to read another story by Dare!